MP welcomes Hastings and Rother have been chosen as Levelling Up Partnership areas

Hastings and Rother will each receive a share of a £400 million fund after being selected for a new 'Levelling Up' scheme.

Budget measures announced by the Chancellor bring the collective power of government, working with local stakeholders in Hastings and Rother, to provide bespoke place-based regeneration which will target areas most in need of levelling up. This will help grow the local economy and level up each community. These measures will deliver more jobs, better services and more opportunities for local people.

The rolling out of Levelling Up Partnerships will provide bespoke place-based regeneration in an initial twenty of England’s areas most in need of levelling up over 2023-24 and 2024-25. Hastings and Rother are two out of the twenty areas which have been chosen for targeted support. This is a major achievement and reflects the hard work of the local MPs, Sally-Ann Hart and Huw Merriman.

The new funding will build on the success of deep dives in Grimsby, which saw cross-government working to help avoid the effective closure of the town’s fish processing sector, and in Blackpool, which unlocked a £100 million regeneration plan.

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will work closely with local MPS, local authorities and other key local stakeholders to work out where investment in Hastings and Rother is most needed to address the biggest barriers to levelling up.

Sally-Ann Hart said: “I have been campaigning for cross government support for coastal communities, especially for my constituency of Hastings and Rye, and for government departments to work in partnership with our local authorities and other local stakeholders including those in the health, housing, and education sectors.

"Partnership working will help unlock the barriers to growth which the communities of Hastings and Rye have struggled with over a long period of time. A new approach was needed to address the challenges we face and release the significant opportunities available to local residents and businesses if given the right support.

"This is fantastic news for Hastings and Rye and I am delighted that our communities will benefit from targeted support and be given the opportunity to flourish.”